Snag delays Kuala Lumpur-bound fliers for 18 hours

Close to 200 Malaysia Airlines passengers bound to Kuala Lumpur in the wee hours of Thursday were stuck at Mumbai airport for 18 hours after the crew detected an engineering snag hours before take off.

The flight —scheduled to leave at 2am on Thursday —was stranded at the city airport until 8pm.

“Since last night, they have been telling us that the flight will leave in 15 minutes but nobody knows the real reason behind the long wait,” said Maulik Bhagat, a flier booked on a business trip.

The passengers comprised honeymooners and families with senior citizens and children, said Bhagat. He added that the airline staff turned down his request for a ticket cancellation and refund.

Aafreen Khan, the airline’s airport manager confirmed that the flight was held up by a ‘mechanical snag’ but did not respond to passengers’ allegations of no communication.

“We waited at the airport for four hours last night. We were taken to a hotel at 6am. Today we checked out at 4pm but there is no clarity about the flight,” said another passenger.

Some passengers booked on connecting flights and packaged tours said they already lost a day. “After almost a day’s wait the crew said that the engineers have cleared the aircraft but the pilots are unhappy,” said another flier.